Now Trending: Indie Supergroups

Middle Brother, a new potential indie powerhouse

​Holiday cover songs were popular this season, but there's something else that has been getting just as much attention. It seems to be that the latest and greatest trend among rock bands, particularly indie bands, is forming supergroups.

Ben Harper, Dhani Harrison (George Harrison's son), and Joseph Arthur were the leaders of the supergroup pack this season, releasing their album As I Call You Down in October under their supergroup name Fistful of Mercy.

Holdin' it down for the ladies is Wild Flag, an all-female supergroup comprised of former members of Sleater-Kinney, Helium, and the Minders. They're loud, they're punk, and they're rockin' out with some original songs as well as some covers.

Next came Mister Heavenly, a powerhouse that includes Islands frontman Nick Thorburn, Man Man vocalist Honus Honus, and Modest Mouse drummer Joe Plummer. They were the opening band on Passion Pit's west coast tour at the beginning of December. Mister Heavenly is set to release an album sometime in 2011. The band has recently gained a huge amount of attention when they brought movie star Michael Cera on board as their bass player... not that they were having trouble selling out shows in the first place.

The UK is in on the supergroup trend too. Freebass, a trio of famous bass players including Peter Hook of Joy Division and New Order, Mani Mounfield of The Stone Roses and Primal Scream, and Andy Rourke of the Smiths, recently released their album It's a Beautiful Life in early December. The band also released an EP back in August, so they were a long way ahead of the supergroup wave.

Most recently announced is Middle Brother, an indie supergroup made up of the frontment of Dawes, Deer Tick, and Delta Spirit. They've actually been performing since March under the name MG&V, but have since changed their name to Middle Brother now that each member is not as busy with his own band as he was over the summer. Middle Brother has a spring tour in the works. On top of that, the band's first album is set to drop on March 1.

If you haven't ditched your own band yet to form a supergroup with more famous musicians, what are you waiting for? While you're busy trying to pull together a supergroup, check out a recent performance by Wild Flag.